The Lohanas are divided into three separate cultural groups as a result of centuries apart in different regions. Thus there are significant differences between the culture, language, professions and societies of Gujarati Lohanas, Sindhi Lohanas, Kutchi Lohanas.

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Although considered to be Vaishya in the Hindu ritual ranking system known as varna, the Lohanas have a origin as members of the khoja varna.[1]

In the 7th century, there was a Buddhist ruler named Agham Lohana[2] ruled a part of Sindh and was Governor of Brahmanabad and contemporary of Chach of Alor. Agham Lohana is referred to in Chach Nama and the city of Agham Kot is said to be named after him. Even the sea around was known as Lohana Darya (Darya means Sea). Chach of Alor killed Agham Lohana in battle of Brahmanand and married his widow and also married his niece to Agham's son Sirhind.[citation needed] Further, Chach is said to have laid restrictions of Lohana and Jat tribes from wearing headgear and carrying weapons. He further placed upon the Jat and Lohana restrictions such as:[3]

Sindh fell under the Muslim rule of Muhammad bin Qasim after defeat of Dahir. Its Hindus were increasingly pressured to convert to Islam. It was around this time that Uderolal - a Sindhi Hindu Lohana also known as Jhulelal,Dariyalal and Jinda Pir - assumed the mantle of Lohana and Hindu leadership. Today Uderolal is revered by both Sindhis and Sufis, thus both Hindus and Muslims visit the site of his samadhi. For two centuries after him, Lohanas took samadhi and lived without fear until, again, they found themselves being increasingly threatened and persecuted in Sindh due to their Hindu identity. It was then that they began to migrate mainly towards Kutch and Saurashtra.[4][5]

Sindhi Lohanas have since been divided into several groups, among which are:[6]

Amils: generally involved in clerical jobs in government offices, as working in posts of revenue collectors and other senior positions

Bhaibands: mainly involved in trade and commerce and so mostly merchants.The community was involved in international and trade in interior of Sindh even before the arrival of the British. They also played an important part in the development of the city of Karachi[7]

Sahitis: placed somewhere between Amils and Bhaibands, they could be either in government service or traders

Lohana celebrate all festivals that are other Gujarati Hindu community such as Diwali, Navratri and Holi. They also celebrate the birthday of 19th-century saint Jalaram.[citation needed] As on April 13, 2019 Lohana Mahaparishad has announced the day of Ramnavmi celebrated as Raghuvanshi Pride Day. [8]

The community's oral history says that the decline of their kingdom began after the death of Veer Dada Jashraj. It also says that their name derives from the city of Lohargadh (/Lohanpur/Lohkot) in Multan, from which they migrated in the 13th century after the establishment of Muslim rule there.[4]

Pir Sadardin converted some Lohanas to the ShiaIsmailiNizari sect of Islam in the 15th century. As Lohanas were worshippers of Shakti, the emergence of a devotional Ismaili oral tradition that incorporated indigenous conceptions of religion, known as ginans, played a role in the forming of a new ethnic caste-like grouping.[9] This group came to be known as Khojas (from Khawaja), a title given by Sadardin,[10] that would predominantly merge into what is now understood as the Nizari Ismaili branch of Shia Islam.[9]

In 1422, Jam Rai Dan was tribal leader in Sindh during the Samma Dynasty; he was converted to Islam by Sayad Eusuf-ud-Din and he adopted a new name Makrab Khan. At that time a person named Mankeji was head of 84 nukhs of Lohanas, who were in favour in court of that Samma king. He was persuaded by ruler and the Qadri to convert to Islam. However, not all Lohanas were ready to convert from Hinduism.[5] But 700 Lohana families comprising some 6,178 persons converted in Thatta, Sindh. These are now known as Memons (from Momins).[5][dubious – discuss]